View article - Tulla Booth Gallery

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MEET THE GALLERIST: TULLA BOOTH
By Kevin Berlin
SOCIAL LIFE PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TULLA BOOTH,
OWNER OF TULLA BOOTH GALLERY IN SAG HARBOR
The gallery’s summer photography exhibition WATER runs through August 22. Daniel Jones, Path to the Beach ed:20. Photograph archival pigmented print 32 in. x 40 in., 2015.
Social Life
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Tulla Booth, Ed Segal
Tell us about the Tulla Booth Gallery.
We opened in 2003 and we feature fine art photography exclusively. We enjoy being located in the seacoast
village of Sag Harbor. We have many local collectors
as well as collectors from New York City and from
countries around the world. We represent 20 photographers who are both world renowned or emerging.
What inspired you to open in Sag Harbor?
We are the only fine art photography gallery on the
East End. Sag Harbor has a different energy than the
other villages in the Hamptons because of the active
harbor and energy of the bay. There is lots of day and
nighttime activity in restaurants, and we have the Bay
Street Theater, live music, and many special events
for families.
You are a photographer yourself. Does your personal
background and interests as a photographer influence
how you present your artists?
Very much so. I understand the need for creating the ultimate
image and many times a small suggestion is all that is needed to get on the right track. I’m also more than sympathetic
about the struggle. Most of the emerging artists appreciate
my gentle coaching.
Is there a unifying philosophy or vision behind the Tulla
Booth Gallery?
We love photography, which was once considered a craft,
but has now joined the world of fine art. It is our vision to
present authentic photography and feature established and
emerging contemporary photographers from the 20th century
to contemporary photographic works.
Stephen Wilkes, Deep End. Photograph archival pigmented print 30 in. x 40 in.
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A lot of your artists live locally and you have close personal relationships with them. How is that important?
There is a strong art community out East; it is good to be
with kindred spirits. This spirit continues from the days of
Pollack to today.
Your new show focuses on water and related themes.
Can you explain the popularity of water images?
Water. What better way to welcome the summer than to pay
homage to the element that surrounds us. These particular artists have a passion for how they perceive it. I think each photographer is very evocative and their work stands alone. Water,
whether it be the ocean, lake, or pond, is full of symbolism
and metaphor. Out here on the East End we’re surrounded
by it, so it’s impossible not to feel drawn to water no matter
where we turn. The work in this show is very inspirational.
Some are slightly calmer while others are very dramatic. Either
way, they’re all quite exciting. They make you feel closer to nature. It's the love of water.
Blair Seagram, Surf Board ed:20. 2010.
The photographer Stephen Wilkes travels to iconic locations all over the world to create his works. Can you tell
us about Wilkes’s work, and in particular the Deep End
image with a swimming pool ladder?
Simply, Stephen was up in the Catskill Mountains and saw a
freshly painted swimming pool so he climbed in and took the
photograph, loving that the ladder was not perfect. That was
in 1981.
And Wilkes’s Santa Monica Pier?
Stephen Wilkes’s wildly popular Day to Night Series are exciting images of the most beloved cities and sites of the world.
As part of his ongoing series he wanted to capture the iconic
Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles County, which he felt captures the essence of Southern California. Wilkes photographs
from a stationary 50 foot crane. Shooting 12 hours from day
to night and gathering 1,200 to 1,500 images to form one image from dawn to dusk. He was recently featured in the newest
National Geographic issue celebrating the 100th anniversary of
the National Park Service. He is on a quest to complete his
vision photographing for an upcoming a fine art publication.
Please see Stephen’s recent lecture on Ted Talks.
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Daniel Jones has recently has become very famous. A lot
of people just saw his major television coverage on CBS
Sunday morning.
Yes. Daniel received even more recognition for his evocative
landscape images in black and white. In the program it is especially interesting to watch him demonstrate his use of a largeformat 8 by 10 view camera, and talk about his growth as an
artist. The key word for any photographer is composition.
Blair Seagram is an extremely popular artist, especially
in the world of surfers. She recently was commissioned
to create surfboards. I'll quote her here:
When my lens turned toward surfers I was inspired by their keen sense
of timing catching a wave then riding across it. The sequence of images that make up the surfing panoramas is less about a decisive moment than about a series of moments or continuity of actions that are
presented as one still image.
Jones’s Seaside Expressions has also received a lot of
attention recently.
In his newest body of work, the Seaside Expressions series is
almost painterly and it creates a visual moment that pulls the
viewer in. His work taken with a digital camera the motion
one sees is done entirely in the camera. The stunning color
is all true to nature, altered only by the atmosphere created
by the weather, light. and in-camera movement. This body of
work, a new beginning for Dan. has been widely admired by
our collectors and fans in the gallery. Jones captures the beauty
of nature through powerful images that are also simple and
peaceful. He calls the North Fork home. We continue to show
a stunning success with the beach series.
Can you tell us more about Seagram’s 1000 Steps?
Bonaire lies about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela on the
continental shelf of South America. The island is essentially
a coral reef that has been geologically pushed up and out of
the sea. Bonaire is a popular destination for scuba divers who
come to explore its reef. 1000 Steps is one of the coral beaches
along the lee side of the island accessible to divers. The entire
coastline of the island was designated a marine sanctuary in
1979.
And Path to Beach?
Path to the Beach with its broken fences by Daniel Jones is a very
appealing image for our clients. The strong metaphor leading
us to feel the excitement of the known but then again the unknown over the dune.
Of course, the gallery is not limited to images about water.
We offer authentic photography in black and white and color
and feature photographs in the following subjects: landscapes,
seascapes, still-life, flora, fauna, exotic travel, figurative lifestyle, celebrity, and documentary. Our goal is to present iconic
images that transcend their subject, making them timeless and
collectable. You can find us at 66 Main Street, Sag Harbor. or
visit us on line at tullaboothgallery.com
Come see us…
Herb Friedman, South of France, Nice. Archival pigmented print, 20 in. x 30 in.